Sydney, Delia Falconer

In the unforgettable words of Paul Keating: 'If you're not living in Sydney, you're camping out.' It is Australia's first city, Australia's biggest city, and without doubt Australia's most spectacular city: harbour, bridge, Opera House, beaches.

Yet the arrogance implicit in Keating's statement can fuel antagonism: residents of Australia's other fair metropoli sometimes like to denigrate Sydney as crass, glitzy and shallow, more show than substance, a cappuccino with plenty of froth and chocolate but not much coffee.

But Delia Falconer's tender portrait of this complex city does much to dispel those slurs. Sydney is the third in a series from New South Books, which has commissioned leading authors to write about their home towns.

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